


Welcome Back

by seaofolives



Series: Rogue One First Anniversary @ Tumblr [2]
Category: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Everybody Lives, F/M, M/M, Post-Canon, Post-Movie(s)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-11
Updated: 2017-12-11
Packaged: 2019-02-13 13:49:42
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,367
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12985389
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/seaofolives/pseuds/seaofolives
Summary: An escape from a mission.





	Welcome Back

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Day 2 of Rogue One First Anniversary Week with the prompt rebellion!

“You are worried.”

All at once the churning in the Force stopped, and Chirrut heard a silence he had never heard for a time. 

He approximated Jyn Erso’s direction and turned his head to it. “It isn’t that I’m stopping you from speaking my line, it’s just that…well maybe I’m getting a little jealous.” When he heard Jyn make the softest snort—for even now, she felt too shy to show any sign of giving in even among friends—Chirrut grinned. He liked getting through her shell. Sometimes, he liked to think he was puncturing a tiny hole on it so that the pressure trapped within didn’t make Jyn explode. 

The Force started to move again, soft but tense, as if it were a delicate mixture and one false move would spoil it. Chirrut relaxed slightly, sitting back in his bench. He listened to the kyber crystal sigh in the wind, as it shifted on fabric. Jyn had put her necklace down. 

“You’re worried too,” Jyn replied. Classic Jyn. Why should it only be her? Chirrut was no better than her. Chirrut grinned again. 

“The Force is with them,” he proclaimed, in a voice that was perhaps a bit too loud for the back of a gutted U-Wing. “The Force is with us,” he continued more softly, wishing he could hold Jyn’s hand but he couldn’t feel her near him. “As long as we have the Force, as long as we trust in it, there is nothing to fear. They will return to us.”

The door banged twice. In a beat, Chirrut felt the Force winding itself tight like a string, twisting like a gut. He had to remind himself how to breathe for a second, while Jyn preferred to use her time wisely by running to the door. He heard her blaster whine to life as he counted the seconds. He tightened his fists around his own walking staff, whispering his prayer under his breath. 

At the fifth second, the bangs came once more, and he and Jyn relaxed. The door groaned open, and that changed the structure of the Force again. Now it was scattered, like sand in the wind. A perfect match to Bodhi who slammed his blaster on the wall and scrambled to the cockpit, all the while rambling about his diagnosis from outside. Between the Force and it, on top of their frayed nerves and their fatigue, Chirrut hadn’t caught his and Jyn’s conversation. By the time he’d finally managed to tune in, all he could catch was, “—kay, hang onto something attached! This is going to be a rough ride.”

He felt, before he heard, the U-Wing rumbling to life, like a beast forced awake without the sophistication of a well-oiled machine. It skewed to his direction, tilting him dangerously backwards so that he had to send his hand flying to the frame of the bench for his balance. The stabilizers were still shot, but at least they were flying now. 

“You got the map?” Bodhi asked, trying not to scream. The Force was a shaky pool, oscillating between the light and the dark—fear shooting down hope shooting down fear shooting down hope. 

“Right here,” Jyn said. “Right, let’s see if this works…this has to work.”

Something blipped. Jyn and Bodhi whooped in triumph. Chirrut jabbed his stick to the floor, beaming. Jyn’s mission had been a success. Now they just needed to fetch the rest of the crew and get out of there. 

“Here we go,” Jyn called. 

They were up in the air before long, although the process in getting there had definitely been worse than Chirrut had prepared himself for, especially for someone with Bodhi’s touch. He closed his eyes, tilting his head back, acquainting his senses to the vibrations of the ship. The motion wasn’t as smooth as they had hoped—time and again, the ship jumped or groaned discouragingly but as long as they kept moving, Chirrut would keep his wild ideas quiet. He had faith and hope. For now that was all he needed. 

“Cassian, get to Chirrut’s drop-off.” Jyn again, this time to the radio. They were banking forward, reaching for the ground. This was a decidedly dangerous move, especially now that their flight time was compromised but they had no choice. They just had to hope that the Imperial allies, with their blasters and their cannons, would be nowhere near the rendezvous point—or that they could, at least, outrun them. 

Chirrut’s prayer came through his lips in silent breaths. Bodhi cried, “I see them!” He opened his eyes, as if he could still see but where his sight failed, the Force did not. It was full now, pulsing and bright and for once, familiar. A smile of relief escaped Chirrut’s lips. He was there and he had not failed. 

Jyn’s boots dashed across Chirrut. The door yawned open to blaster noises, cries. A particle beam came off from their side of the ship. Someone fell, voice fading down a height. 

“Cassian, go!!” 

“Hurry!” Cassian replied. 

The first voice made Chirrut shudder. He looked around, orienting himself to the sound. 

Cassian’s footsteps finally pounded up the ramp, followed closely by the sound of his Droid’s feet. “Baze, come on!!” Jyn growled before releasing another shot. 

Baze finally came up, his heavy footfalls an anchor for Chirrut’s nerves. He hardly heard the ramp closing and Bodhi announcing that they were pulling up. Cassian had assumed his place beside him, running through the pilot’s commands. 

The escape out through the atmosphere felt bloated with tension, with the ship rattling, Bodhi and Cassian arguing and K-2SO advising them how much closer to death they were by the second. Jyn and Baze chose to stay by the windows to ease their nerves. Chirrut clasped his hands around his stick and prayed, eyes shut tight. 

It was a miracle that they managed to reach hyperspace without anything exploding on them. They weren’t quite out of danger yet but it was still a good time to celebrate. 

Bodhi was hooting and singing a happy song from Jedha while K-2SO congratulated him for not getting them all killed. Jyn and Cassian met in a brief, bodily hug. They were not quite so showy with their affections, but that was how they were. 

“You got shot.”

“Flesh wound,” Cassian replied to Jyn. “Baze was in the way.”

“You’re welcome,” Baze said. Chirrut grinned. He would ask for the whole story later but for now, he knew that Baze had saved him. 

“Thanks, Baze,” Jyn said. 

“And you?” Cassian spat suddenly. “You look okay.” His words were spoken with the tenderness of someone who felt embarrassed and giddy with his relief. Jyn felt light. “Did you get all the files?” 

“Some of them might have gotten corrupted,” Jyn replied, walking. “But there’s something you need to see.” Now it was back to work for the both of them. Cassian would summon K-2SO to fetch the med kit while Jyn began. Bodhi set them on auto-pilot mode so he could join them. 

Chirrut finally stood as Baze approached. His heart was pounding but it felt free. He smiled. It felt good to be back in Baze’s presence, to be surrounded by his energy in the Force. Baze reached for Chirrut’s face with both his hands.

He deflected them with his and raced him, victorious on finding his cheeks. Calmly, Chirrut began to explore his features, like a traveler tracing a well-worn map. He stroked at his scars, the lines on his face, his eyes and his lips, his nose, just as he always had back in Jedha, whenever Baze should return from a job. He went on down to his arms, his hands, pinching and pressing along the way but even there, he found nothing. Satisfied that Baze hadn’t been hurt, he smiled and nodded. His seal of approval. 

“What happened to the ship?” Baze asked. 

“We had to throw some junk away to lighten the load. We’re not at 100% tip-top shape right now.” Chirrut’s grin widened. “But we are all together, and that is what is more important.” Opening his arms, finally he said to Baze, “Welcome back.”


End file.
